Southern Miss beats La. Tech 58-24, clinches C-USA West

RUSTON, La. -- Nick Mullens threw three touchdown passes and Ito Smith ran for three scores and Southern Mississippi rolled to a 58-24 victory over Louisiana Tech on Saturday to clinch the Conference USA West Division title. Southern Miss (9-3, 7-1) has won six straight games, and has scored 50-plus points for a program-best fifth time. Mullens was 24 of 37 for 386 yards passing with scoring strikes of 1, 7, and 22 yards to three different receivers. Smith had touchdown runs of 57, 17, and 11 yards on consecutive drives in the fourth quarter, all on first down plays. He finished with 169 yards on 22 carries. Devonta Foster had a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown for the Golden Eagles. And Michael Thomas had seven catches for 162 yards. Jeff Driskel was 27 of 44 for 355 yards passing with three touchdowns, but he threw three interceptions for Louisiana Tech (8-4, 6-2).